The Date
by WildFlower084
Summary: He's been pestering her about this for a while now. Will she finally give in? [COMPLETE]
1. Begging

**Here is my new fic on Bones. I have never worked on two fics at the same time so I will try my bestto update both quickly.**

**Summary: He's been pestering her about this for a while now. Will she finally give in?**

**Disclaimer: I own nothin'!**

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Temperance sighed in frustration as she quickly walked off towards her office, her handsome (though she wouldn't admit it completely) FBI agent on her tail. She didn't know why exactly he was here but, ever since he had arrived at the Jeffersonian two hours ago, he had been following her everywhere asking her the same old question. 

"Come on Bones, just this one time."

"I told you already, Booth. The answer is no!"

"Please? Don't me beg."

Turning around to face him, she laughed sarcastically.

"It wouldn't be fun any other way."

She walked in her office and sat down at her desk. She needed to check her e-mails. Her publisher had been supposed to send her something and she wanted to know if he had. Unfortunately, her inbox was empty.

It had been an ongoing question for the past two months. Every time they were in the same room together, alone, he would ask her. At first, it didn't bother her as much. She thought that if she kept rejecting him, he would get the hint but her rejection only seemed to make him more determined to get her to say yes.

She looked up to find her partner sitting on the corner of her desk, looking at her expectantly, with one eyebrow raised.

"What?" she asked him, annoyed.

"No messages from Dick431?"

Temperance sighed but she wasn't quite sure if it had been out of annoyance or sadness.

"I told you, Booth. We broke up two months ago."

It had been totally unexpected. One moment they were totally happy together and the next, David was telling her that it was over, that they just didn't click and would be best if they just stayed friends. Temperance had been too stunned to reply anything and David had simply just left the restaurant where they had met. She hadn't heard a thing from him ever since.

It hadn't hurt as much as she had expected even though they had been seeing each other for over a year. When she had told Angela about it, her best friend hadn't seemed surprised. She had only told her that maybe she hadn't loved David as much as she thought she had but that there was nothing to worried about. Why question why you're not feeling depressed over a break-up? If it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt. Just accept it!

She noticed that Booth was still looking at her. She knew that it made him happy that David had broke up with her but she couldn't understand why. What was it about David that Booth had simply despised for the whole year they had been dating?

"That's exactly why you should say yes to my invitation."

The sound of his voice brought her back to reality.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?" Temperance asked, confused.

"I said that's exactly why you should say yes to my invitation."

Temperance sighed. She should have known that he would turn this around to him. He always did. He seemed to think that her life revolved around his.

"Booth, we work together. We can't." She replied, standing up to end the conversation.

She motioned to him the door but Booth didn't move. Groaning, she grabbed a few files and walked out of her office. Her partner immediately followed her like a puppy.

"Then don't see it as a date. Just see it as two friends spending some time together outside of work."

He was pleading his case and, deep down, she found it cute. _Cute?_

"What do we usually do at Wong Foo's then?"

"That's not the same thing."

"How is it not?" She replied as she turned right in the hallway and stopped in front of a examination room.

"It just isn't." Booth replied, unsure of what else to say.

It was true. Their time at Wong Foo's was just that: friendship time. But it seemed to Booth that their friendship time mostly resembled work overtime since all they did is talk about the latest case they had solved or had yet to solve. They never really got to talk about themselves and Booth felt like he didn't know his partner. Of course, he knew a lot about her but, to him, it just didn't seem like enough. He wanted, he _needed_, to know everything about her: her childhood, her fears, her hopes, everything. He knew there was a slim chance of that happening since Temperance wasn't the type of woman who opened up easily but he really thought that, if he was patient enough, he would one day see the day when she would.

He had been amazingly hurt when he had found out that she had been dating David behind his back. He had actually thought that they had been going somewhere but when that guy had arrived in her life, she had been practically swept off her feet. He hadn't said anything during the whole time they had been together. After all, if she was happy, wasn't that the most important thing? But he had been immensely jealous every time she had declined spending time with him outside of work or whenever she would mention David's name. Then again, it wasn't surprising. He loved her.

He watched as she grabbed a bag of bones that lay on the floor and scattered the remains across her table. He watched as she carefully placed them into different piles, her forehead wrinkled because of her deep concentration. He watched her every move until she couldn't stand it anymore. She turned abruptly to face him.

"Are you done staring at me?"

"No."

"What are you doing here anyway? Don't you have anything better to do at work?"

"It's Saturday, Bones and no, I don't have anything better to do. I could though but a certain person doesn't even want to hear about it."

Temperance sighed. She couldn't believe how much infuriating he could be. Then again, that was one of the things she liked about him. _Liked about him?_ Her mind told her. She told it to shut up.

Laying down her pencil on the examination table, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"If I agree to this date thing, will you let me work in peace?"

Booth tried hard not to smile.

"Of course." He replied, as seriously as he could.

"Then fine. I will go out with you." She said, rolling her eyes.

Before he even had a chance to say something, she cut him off once again.

"But it'll just be a one-time thing, okay?"

Booth nodded.

"Sure, no problem. I'll see you at noon tomorrow then."

And on that, he left the room.

Temperance went back to her bones. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, she'd be on a date with Booth. She groaned out loud. What had she gotten into?

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**Interested in more? Review and tell me what you think.**


	2. Getting Ready

Author's Note: Thank you so SO much to everybody who has replied to the first chapter. I never had that many reviews for a first chapter before. Hopefully you will like this chapter as much as the first one. There's just this one thing: my computer broke (I'm currently using my dad's) so I won't be able to update as quickly as I normally do. I will try my best but you will have to bare with me. Do we have a deal? lol Have fun reading and don't forget to hit the Review button on your way out.

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Temperance sighed as she opened her eyes. Sunday morning: her date with Booth was only in a couple of hours. He had called the previous night to tell her he'd stop by the pick her up around noon and not forget to pack some extra clothes. When she had asked why, he had simply told her that she'd figure it out by herself when they'd be there. She had only shrugged before hanging up.

She still couldn't believe that she was going on a date with Booth. It seemed to surreal and... embarrassing. But what so embarrassing about going on a date with him? she thought to herself. It wasn't like Booth wasn't good-looking or that there was something really wrong with him either. What was she afraid of? He had even said that she could think of it as just a day with a friend. Could it be just that? Just a day spent with a friend? Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she hoped that it wasn't.

Groaning loudly, she rubbed her face with her face to chase away the sleep and turned to look at her clock. She couldn't believe it. She had slept until ten. She barely had two hours to do everything she had planned to do that morning and get ready for her date. Oh well, some stuff would just have to wait.

Sitting up in her bed, she decided that she needed coffee. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, noticing that she might want to shave them before her date. She stood and looked around the room for her robe. She found it scattered across at the floor at the foot of her bed. Wrapping it around her, she walked out of her room and into the kitchen.

Yawning, she grabbed everything she needed to make herself some coffee and put it in the machine. She leaned on the counter, lost in her thoughts, until her coffee was ready. Pouring it into her mug, she mentally went over her to-do list for the today.

She had wanted to get some cleaning done since her apartment was surprisingly messy. Her brother had stopped by a few days before for dinner and they had turn the place upside down. Used dishes were still on her coffee table, papers were scattered about her living room (papers? why were there papers?) and she found the socks she had taken off during the night laying beside the couch. Her kitchen wasn't that messy, unless she took in consideration the Chinese food box that stood empty on the counter from Booth's last visit. She smiled as she remembered the first time he bought Chinese food at her place in the middle of the night. It had been when they had found her mother's bones.

So maybe cleaning her house wouldn't take a lot of time. She would start by doing that. Then she would have to get ready. Even if it was only Booth taking her out, it didn't mean she would have to look like a slob in front of him. Her hair needed to be washed, her legs shaved and she desperately needed a good shower to ease the nervousness creeping at the bottom of her stomach every time she thought about her date with Booth.

She took another sip of her coffee before putting down the mug on the counter and getting to work. She started with her living room and then proceeded to the kitchen and in barely forty-five minutes her apartment appeared nearly spotless. At least now she would be able to invite Booth in if she wasn't quite ready and not be embarrassed by the state of her apartment.

Taking one last look at her living room, she decided it was now time to go take her shower. She still had an hour and fifteen minutes to get ready since she knew, by experience, how punctual Booth could be, especially for an occasion like this.

She let the warm stream of the shower ease all of the nervousness away and she relaxed. She took much more time than she normally did, making sure she wasn't forgetting anything. She wondered why she was doing all of this. It was only Booth and a date spent with a friend. That was all.

Thirty minutes later, she stepped out of the shower. She dried herself off then, wrapping her towel around herself, she went to her room.

Looking in her closet, she wasn't sure what she wanted to wear. Booth hadn't told her where he was bringing her and what they were going to be doing. Her light summer dress seemed perfect for a date but somehow Temperance felt like this wasn't going to be the best thing to wear. We just never knew with Booth. Could it be possible that his ideal date most resembled whitewater rafting? If it did, which she hardly doubted, a dress wouldn't be the best attire.

"It's just a day spent with a friend." a voice in her head reminded her.

Okay, it was settled. A navy blue tank top with either her khaki or black pants was what she was going to wear. It wasn't much but it was the next best thing she had for a date with Booth. Part of her wanted to look good for him and she had gotten great comments on her navy blue tank-top so this wasn't definitely the way to go.

Booth's words suddenly hit her. She would need spare clothes. Ugh, she thought. Why did Booth have to make this so complicated? Oh well. She'd take care of that later. Right now, the water from her hair was slowly gliding down her back and was annoying her. Next stop: blow-dryer station.

It was 11:45 when Temperance came back in her bedroom, hair completely dried and her light make-up done. She had fifteen minutes to get dressed, do her hair (hair down or hair up? she wondered) and pack her extra clothing.

Grabbing her clothes, she quickly put them on but she soon realized that she didn't like the effect of her black pants with the navy blue tank-top. Taking them off, she tried different pair of pants until she found one that was somewhat okay. She settled with her baby blue jeans that she loved so much.

Now, for extra clothing, what was she supposed to take? Booth hadn't given her any details as to why she was supposed to bring extra clothing. Did he mean that she wasn't coming back to her apartment afterwards? The nervousness came back and Temperance pushed it away. No, that certainly not it. Did he mean for her to bring something more casual for later on in the evening? He didn't mention anything about going to a restaurant or something.

"This is ridiculous." she thought as she grabbed the first thing that came under her hand.

Okay, so now she was bringing shorts and a really nice khaki t-shirt. Frowning, she threw the t-shirt aside and took out the same coloured tank-top. That was much better. Putting it in her bag, she considered for a minute or two if she should bring extra underwear as well. Rationalizing that maybe just in case Booth had plans to get her wet (she coud almost hear Angela giggle at that thought), she took out a new bra and panties and shoved them in her bag, underneath her clothes so Booth wouldn't get the wrong idea if he ever opened her bag and came across them.

She looked at the time. It was 11:50. Looking one more time at herself in the mirror, she realized that her hair wasn't done. She desperately looked around for a brush and an elastic. Her hair was much better tied up, she thought.

11:53. It was almost time. She grabbed her bag and walked out of her room. She walked up to the door and dropped her bag in front of her. Grazing down at her shoes, she debated which one to wear.

"This is really ridiculous." she thought.

Now she couldn't even decide which shoes to wear. She blamed Booth for this. If only he had told her on the phone what he was planning on making them do, she wouldn't have to be confused over clothes and now over shoes. Sighing in frustration, she grabbed her running shoes and put them on. She then took two pairs of sandals (beach sandals and nicer ones if they ever went to a restaurant) and threw them in her bag.

She turned to look at her clock. 11:55. Booth would be here in five minutes.

She sat on the edge of her couch as she waited for Booth. The nervousness had come back and she didn't know why. The more she told herself that it was only a day spent with a friend, the more nervous it made her. Deep down, she knew that it wasn't just that and, moreover, she knew that this wasn't going to be a just one-time thing. What she didn't know is if she was going to be able to handle it.

Her apartment was so quiet and, at 11:59, she was pretty sure she had heard the ring from the elevator down the hall.

"Stop it, Brennan. You're being paranoid."

She gulped. She hadn't been. Two seconds later, as her clock turned to 12:00, she heard three knocks on her door. It was time.

She wished more than anything to have a mirror beside her door to check what she looked like. The three knocks had made her sort of self-conscious and she now needed the reassurance that she looked nice. She groaned inwardly and cursed her partner. She couldn't believe she was panicking because of her appearance.

She waited an extra three seconds, just to make it seem like she hadn't been sitting on her couch waiting for him before she got up. She slowly made her way to her door, her legs feeling weak and like they were going to give out on her. She took a deep breath before opening the door.

What she saw completely took her by surprise. She had never seen him like that. He was dressed so... normally. She had only seen him in suits and she had even wondered, one day, if he ever wore anything else. Today, she got the answer to her question. He did dress in something other than suits. A t-shirt, shorts and hair moussed, she noticed, really did make him look...

"Hot..." she whispered, not able to tear her eyes away from him.

"Sorry?" Booth said, trying his best not to smile.

"I mean hi!" Temperance said, her face turning completely red.

"Hi yourself." her partner replied. "I uh... brought you a little something."

Bringing his arms out from behind his back, Booth practically shoved in her face the bouquet of flowers he had picked up on the way for her. Temperance stared at the flowers, unable to move. He had bought her flowers? She looked up at him, eyes seeming the only thing that could move at the moment, and saw his sheepish expression, like he was somewhat embarrassed to have bought her flowers. She suddenly realized that she still hadn't said a thing.

"Thank you, Booth." she said as she took the flowers in her hands. "Let me just put them in some water."

Walking back to the kitchen, she realized that she hadn't even invited him in to wait. She turned around to do so but she noticed that Booth had already stepped inside. She smiled until she felt her hip hit something hard. Turning back, she realized that she had walked straight into her counter. She forced herself not to scream out in pain.

"You better watch where you're going there, Bones. I don't want to have an injured date."

"Where are we going anyway?" Temperance asked as she rummaged through her cupboard in search of a vase.

"You'll see when we get there." Booth replied, looking around his partner's apartment.

Temperance nodded as she filled the vase with water. She placed the flowers into the plastic vase and set it on the counter. The bouquet was really beautiful, she had to admit. But now wasn't the time to admire it. She'd have plenty of time to do it later.

She looked at Booth who was already staring at her expectantly. She felt her face grow warm under his gaze. She smiled weakly at him before walking off towards the door.

"Are you ready?" she asked him, as she grabbed her bag.

"Of course." Booth said as he moved quickly to open the door for her.

They both stepped out in the hallway and Booth stood behind her as she locked her door.

And as Booth followed her to the elevator, he couldn't help the comment that escaped his lips.

"And you look hot too."

Temperance felt her face grow even warmer and she knew that she was blushing. She closed her eyes tightly for a second before sighing. Another memory to be repressed.

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Next chappie: the date actually begins! What are your predictions for this date? Where do you think Booth is taking her at 12:00 in the afternoon? I know... but do you? lol.


	3. Picnic and Water

A/N: So sorry I took such a long time to update but at least it gave everybody a chance to read the previous chapter. This chapter is a bit longer than I had expected it to be (partly because I'm using WordPad so I can't really see how many pages I have written) but there's small fluff so I'm guessing you won't mind.

Also, thank you to everyone who has reviewed the last chapter and congratulations to my psychics (you know who you are). And for those who are also reading my other story, The Body in the Park, it should be updated some time next week (family date time!). At the moment I don't have a computer so I'm using my dad's but unfortunately, I can only use it in the morning which doesn't give me much time to write before going to work. I'll try my best to update quickly but I can't guarantee anything.

Well I've spoken enough for now. Have fun and please don't forget to review:-)

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Man she can be so pretty. Booth thought as he followed his partner to his SUV.

Even though he was the one taking her on a date, she was still the one who had to be in the lead. She was leading him out of her apartment and towards his car. He wondered why she always had to be the first one at everything. But today, it wouldn't matter because he was also the first at something: he was the first man to take her out on a date after her break-up. He had to be proud of that.

They reached the SUV and Booth immediately opened the door for her. A bit surprised, she looked at him questioningly but didn't say anything.

Maybe that's how he is on dates. She thought as she climbed in and Booth closed the door.

She watched as he jogged to the driver's side and climbed in. She threw her bag onto the backseat to notice that Booth had also brought one and seemed to have brought lunch at the same time.

They were leaving her parking lot when she asked him where he planned on bringing her.

"You'll see when we get there."

Temperance simply nodded and turned to look outside. Even though she didn't really want to admit it, she was nervous. She tried to calm down by telling herself that they had done stuff together before, that this wasn't going to be different but deep down, she knew it was going to. This was officially a date, something she never thought she would go on with her work partner. She gulped as she noticed that Booth was driving her out of the city. Where were they going?

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The drive lasted less than forty minutes. Booth had desperately tried to make conversation but Temperance had been rather quiet, only answering with a couple of words. He had stopped trying as they had gotten off the highway and into some small streets just outside of Washington. He just hoped that her tongue would loosened so they could actually talk today.

He had a feeling she would like the place where he was taking her. It wasn't much but they were surely going to have a lot of fun. Looking through the rear-view mirror, he eyed the basket with their lunch. He hadn't eaten anything all day, too busy preparing everything for their date, but he suddenly found that he wasn't hungry anymore.

Nervousness at its best. He thought as he turned into the trail leading to the main office of this quiet national park.

Temperance looked up at the trees. Booth was bringing her into a forest? She wasn't quite sure what to feel. She wasn't much one with nature but she didn't despise it either. Oh well, she thought, I'll just have to see. She decided that this was the best attitude. Besides, where else could they have gone on such short notice?

A few minutes later, Booth pulled up to the parking lot and parked the SUV in one of the empty spots. He casted a glance at Temperance who was looking around at the trees. He smiled briefly.

"Here we are!" he announced in a voice that he had wanted to sound cheerful.

"Where are we?"

"My favorite place in the entire world. Come on, let's go. I'm starving!" he said as he grabbed the bags from the backseat.

He opened his door before stepping out. Grabbing the basket and his bag, he watched as Temperance reached out back to grab her stuff and got out of the vehicle. Closing the door behind him, he caught up with her immediately. He'd have no choice but to lead the way. She had no clue where they were going.

He turned to look at her. She was wearing jeans, not the ideal outfit for what they were going to do after lunch. He'd tell her later to change.

"You ready?" he asked, turning to look at her.

She nodded and Booth started walking.

She had no idea where they were going but it was obvious that they were going to have lunch somewhere around here. She could hear the distant sound of kids screaming. Hopefully there wasn't going to be so much noise.

They made small talk until they reached what seemed to Temperance the "dining" area of the park. Several picnic tables were lined side-by-side in this vast open area of grass and Temperance saw that two families were already there. She sighed. She had sort of hoped that Booth and her would have been alone for this.

She was about to make her way to the picnic tables when she felt Booth gently grab her arm. She swung around to face him. He simply shook his head and pointed a spot not far from where they were standing.

"The picnic tables are too dirty. Besides it's much more fun eating on the ground."

Temperance shrugged but she nevertheless followed her partner a couple of feet away. She watched as Booth laid a blanket on the grass and began taking out the lunch he had packed. She was amazed at how much food he had managed to fit in that basket. Everything was in little plastic containers: vegetables, fruits, sandwiches, cookies and something that looked like dip. He took out plates, forks and knives and laid them on the blanket. He then looked up expectantly at her. Temperance smiled shyly and joined them on the blanket. This was too weird.

She watched as Booth opened the containers and motioned to her to help herself. She carefully picked out some of the vegetables that she liked (carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli) and placed them on her plate. Booth handed her one of the sandwiches which she gratefully accepted. She hadn't noticed it until now but she was starving.

Booth watched as she quickly ate half of the plate and couldn't help but smile. He had seen her eat before but he felt like he was really seeing it for the first time. He slowly ate the set in his own plate, knowing fully well that he should eat more since he would need the energy later on today but his stomach was closed shut from nervousness.

She shifted under his gaze. He was making her feel self-conscious and she couldn't eat feeling like that. She set her sandwich down and nibbled at her carrots instead, her eyes never leaving the scenery that surrounded them.

"What are you thinking about?"

His voice brought her back to reality.

"Oh... nothing. This is a nice place. How do you know about it?"

"My buddies and I come here often to play football or Frisbee."

"You play Frisbee?"

"Of course." Booth replied. "It's actually pretty fun. We play here since there's so much space."

"You didn't bring me here to play Frisbee, did you?"

She sounded worried and Booth laughed.

"Of course not, Bones. I have something a bit more special for us after this."

"Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"Nope." Booth replied as he took a bite out of his sandwich. "All I'm prepared to tell you is that maybe you should take off what you're wearing and change into something else."

Temperance eyed him suspiciously and Booth realized how bad what he had just said sounded. Of course he hadn't meant it like that but he could see how she, and everyone else really, could have interpreted what he said in that way. He quickly corrected himself.

"What I meant to say is that... well... your jeans are really nice and I wouldn't want anything to happened to them. Don't you have shorts or something in your bag?"

Temperance nodded and sighed in relief. She then smiled at him shyly.

The rest of their lunch was spent in total silence, both of them too lost in their own thoughts to talk which made Booth wonder if the whole day would turn out to be as quiet. Not that he hated sitting here with her under the warm end-of-July sun. He could stare at her as much as he wanted. She was too engrossed in watching the children play Tag nearby to notice anything. But if she kept quiet the whole day, he was surely going to go crazy.

He couldn't believe how beautiful she was and couldn't believe that she had actually agreed to go out with him. He had to admit, he had been pretty annoying and he had wondered, as he had tried to fall asleep the previous night, if she had only agreed to go out with him in hope that his annoying request would stop. It probably was the reason but Booth hoped that maybe, deep down, she had really wanted to go on a date with him.

They watched the kids play for five more minutes before Booth gathered up the empty containers and started putting them back in the basket.

"You go change in the restroom over there." he told her, indicating where the cabins stood. "I'll pack our stuff and go back to the car to drop the basket off. I should be back in about fifteen minutes tops."

Temperance nodded and grabbed her own bag. Standing up, she smiled one more time at Booth before turning around and heading to the cabins, oblivious to Booth's stare who was watching her walk away.

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"Booth, where on earth are you taking me?" Temperance asked as she climbed what seemed to her like the hundredth rock.

"It's a surprise, Bones, I told you already. Now would you quit complaining?"

Grabbing the hand he had been offering, she pulled herself up. The last time she had gone hiking, she hadn't loved it particularly but at the moment, she couldn't remember hating it as much. They had left the main trail about ten minutes before and she still had no clue where they were going. She had been reluctant to leave the main path in the first place and she had begged Booth to stay on it. But, of course, he hadn't listen to her. Here they were now, walking in the middle of the forest, climbing rocks, small cliffs and going down hills. For all she knew, they were maybe lost as they seemed to be going around in circles. Branches cracked under their feet as they quietly made their way through the forest. Every now and then, the sun peeked from in-between branches. There were just so many trees.

"Can you at least describe to me the place where we're going?"

"Sure." Booth replied. "It's secluded and we'll have privacy."

"Privacy for what?" she asked, suspiciously.

"For fun." He simply answered.

"What kind of fun?"

"Normal fun, Bones." Booth said, sighing in frustration. Man she can be annoying. Can't she just enjoy this and not complain?

"Well I don't doubt that it's secluded. We're miles away from the main path, let alone civilization."

"That's what's great about it."

A deer ran past them a few feet away. Temperance jumped at the sound of it which only resulted in making Booth chuckle. She rewarded him with a slap on the arm.

"That wasn't funny!" she said, indignantly.

"It was to me."

The duo fell silent. Booth led his partner further and further into the forest knowing fully well where he was going and that Temperance would really like the area. He knew her and he knew that her biggest fear was to get caught on a date with him by someone she knew. There was no chance of that happening where they were going. He had been there often, alone, to relax and had never taken anyone else there, not even his son. Bones would be the first person to see his haven of peace. It was just the way it had to be.

They had been walking for twenty minutes when Booth stopped abruptly. Unzipping his bag, he reached into it and, after a few seconds, pulled out some kind of cloth.

"Turn around."

"What?" Temperance asked, surprised.

"Turn around."

"No!"

"Come on."

"No, Booth. I don't want you to blindfold me."

"Why not?"

"Because it's ridiculous. Besides, I could hurt myself."

"I'll be there to guide you. Don't worry."

"Why do you need to blindfold me anyway?"

"It's so much more fun."

"Yeah? For whom?"

He grabbed her left hand with his and gave it a small squeeze.

"Come on, do it for me."

He gave her the puppy eyes, the ones he knew she wouldn't be able to resist for me than ten seconds. Except this time, it took three before she was rolling her eyes but turning around.

Carefully wrapping the cloth around her eyes, he made sure that she wouldn't be able to see. He wasn't so sure why he was actually doing this but it had seemed like a good idea the previous night. Today, as he tightened the knot behind her head, he felt rather stupid.

"Can you see anything?"

"Other than blackness?"

Her response had been sarcastic and Booth had to fight the urge to sigh loudly in frustration. Instead, he strongly grabbed her hand and led her down the small path made by him over the years. She wouldn't fall or hurt herself, he thought, if they passed by there.

She walked slowly, putting what she felt like her entire trust in him. She let him guide her through the forest, her hand burning in his. She had never felt it, that burn on her skin when it came in contact with his but she was feeling it now. She hated it but yet she couldn't (and didn't want to) pull away. She groaned inwardly. He was having a bit too much effect on her at the moment.

They walked for what seemed to her like a thousand miles before they came to a stop. She remained silent and listened. She could only hear the faint sound of water. Where were they?

"When I take off your blindfold, keep your eyes closed."

"Why?"

"You're really a pain in the ass, Bones. Did you know that?"

She simply shrugged. She felt, more than heard him, move behind her and reach for the knot. The blindfold came off and she fought hard not to open her eyes. This was ridiculous. Why wasn't he letting her see where they were?

She heard him step beside her.

"Open your eyes."

And she did.

There was water, all right, a whole lake actually. Except, it was too small to be considered a lake. They would easily be able to cross it by swim. Her gaze shifted to the scenery. She wasn't much one with nature but she had to admit, this place was really nice and she had no doubt as to why Booth liked it so much.

The sun, which had disappeared during their little expedition through the forest, had suddenly reappeared, shining ten times brighter than it had been before, or so it seemed to her. The light breeze made the water ripple and Temperance thought she could make out the sound of birds not far away, possibly on the other side of this so-called lake. The whole thing was surrounded by trees. Lots of trees. No noises except for the birds, no sound coming from the highway near the park.

"I told you it was secluded."

His voice came to her through a haze. She turned to face him.

"How did you find this place?"

She watched as his face turned red in embarrassment. He's so cute when he's blushing.

"I got lost one day while I was on a little hiking trip with my friends." He admitted. "And I found this. It was just so nice and so quiet, Bones, that I actually spent three days here, alone."

"Three days?"

"Yeah. I had food with me, don't worry. It was five years ago. This is a very special place for me, I've never brought anybody here before. You're the first one."

She felt her face grow warm.

"Why me?" she asked in a small voice.

"I just thought you were worthy of it."

Her face grew warmer, she was pretty sure she was blushing like mad, and she felt her heart start to beat a whole lot faster as she looked in her partner's eyes. There was something in them that had never been there before and Temperance wondered what it was.

Booth broke the eye contact and motioned to her the water.

"Wanna go swim?"

His question brought her crashing back to reality.

"In there?" she asked with a hint of disgust.

"Well yeah. Why not?" Booth replied. "Unless you're scared..."

He knew she wasn't scared but he simply felt like bugging her. This was the way to go.

"I'm not scared, I just think it's disgusting. It's polluted water."

"Suit yourself but I'm going." He said, ignoring her last statement.

He sat down on the edge of the small cliff. The water laid a few feet under them and Booth would have to jump down to reach the sandy shore. It didn't take him more than three seconds before his feet touched the warm sand. He turned to look expectantly at his friend.

"Are you going to stand there all day?" he asked her, squinting against the sun.

"No." Temperance replied, proudly, as she sat down near the edge.

"I'll catch you." Booth said but Temperance shook her head.

"I'm capable of jumping off this small cliff by myself, Booth."

"Suit yourself."

His catch phrase of the day, it seems. She thought before letting herself fall. Seconds later, she was landing in front of him, her I-told-you-so smile plastered on her face.

"Told you I could do it." She told him.

"I never doubted you one second." Booth replied. "There's just one small thing."

"What?"

"You left your bag up there." he said, pointing at the dark blue sports bag.

She blushed a deep shade of red. How many embarrassing moments would she have to go through today?

"But just leave it there. We'll get it later." He added as he stripped off his shirt.

He watched in amusement as Temperance's eyes fell on his chest and as her face grew even redder in shyness or embarrassment. She immediately looked away the second they made eye contact and Booth couldn't help but chuckle before making his way to the water.

The water was cold but it felt rather nice after walking under the intense heat and humidity of the summer. He immediately plunged under water and came back up a few seconds later. He turned around to face his partner. Temperance was still standing in the exact same spot as before.

"The water's nice, Temperance. Come on!"

Her heart fluttered at the sound of her name. He so rarely called her by her first name.

He watched as she took off her running shoes and socks and took a few tentative steps towards the water. One toe in the cold water had her taking a few steps back. Booth laughed.

"You're such a wimp, Bones. The water isn't that cold. Come on, you can go diving but you can't go swimming in a lake?"

Temperance glared t him before making her way determinedly in the water. Booth watched as her expression changed slightly the second the water hit her calf but she didn't back away.

She stopped at knee-high. Booth had had enough. He hadn't brought her here so he could be the only one to swim. He swam back to the shore and stood up. He watched as her eyes went again to his chest then up to his eyes. He smiled mischievously.

"You're a real wimp, Bones."

And, without any warning, he scooped her up and walked back in the water.

"Booth!" she shrieked.

He was wet with cold water. Goosebumps appeared on her arms and she shivered. Booth only laughed.

"Don't you dare throw me in the water, Booth."

Her warning fell on deaf ears. Seconds later, her entire body was making contact with the cold water except that it wasn't as cold as she had expected to be, she realized as she opened her eyes under water. It felt actually rather nice after the extreme heat. She stayed a few seconds under water, the coldness exhilarating her, before coming back up to breathe. She wiped the water from her eyes and looked at Booth who had a huge grin on his face.

"See? I told you the water wasn't so bad." He said, splashing more water onto her.

"You're so dead, Seeley Booth." Temperance said, wiping the water from her face. And thank goodness for waterproof mascara.

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Please, don't forget to review on your way out!


	4. On the Way Back

"I'm exhausted!" Temperance said as she laid down on the warm sand and closed her eyes.

She was surprised at how much time she had spent in the lake, especially since she had been reluctant to go in the first place.

"Well don't fall asleep on me, we still need to walk back to the car and go back to Washington. Our date isn't over yet." Booth replied, walking up to her.

"It isn't?"

She kept her eyes closed for fear that they would give away the happiness she was now feeling inside. As much as she hated to admit it, the date wasn't going as bad as she had expected it to go and she was surprisingly enjoying herself. And now Booth had announced that it wasn't over, that they would still be spending time together. The day couldn't better than that.

"Of course not. Aren't you hungry? I was sort of hoping we could stop at a restaurant on our way back."

Temperance opened her eyes. Booth stood tall above her and was looking at her with his puppy eyes. She rolled her own.

"Don't give me your puppy eyes, Booth. I never said I didn't want to go to the restaurant. I'm actually starting to be a bit hungry."

Booth smiled as he crouched down to lay down beside her. Their afternoon of swimming had in fact been exhausting. They had made races to see who would get to the other side of lake first (she had beaten once but only because he had made her win, or so he liked to believe), contests to see who could swim the longest under water (she had been amazingly good at it, he had to admit) and, of course, there had been lots of splashing around and Temperance picked up and thrown in the water. Two hours of non-stop swimming would tire out anybody.

"I have to admit, Bones. You were really good at the underwater race thing we did. You actually won three times."

Temperance turned to face her partner, a smile spreading over her tired face.

"I would have won them all if you hadn't cheated."

"Cheated? Moi?"

Temperance smacked him playfully on the arm. Booth chuckled.

"Where do you want to go for dinner? I had something in mind but if there's somewhere in particular you want to go, I'd be willing to consider it."

"No, you choose. I'm too exhausted to think."

"What are you going to do in a couple of minutes? You know, Bones, I'm not carrying you all the way back to the car. We're at least forty minutes away from it."

Temperance groaned.

"Booth, why would you pick such a secluded beach? It's like an hour away from civilization."

Booth rolled over on his side and scooted over a little closer. Bringing his left hand to his partner's face, he tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear.

"Then we wouldn't have been able to be alone for our first date."

Temperance gulped. Even though Booth had removed his hand immediately after tucking her hair behind her ear, she somehow could still feel the touch of it on her cheek. Butterflies flew in her stomach and the nervousness, which had vanished during their time in the lake, came sweeping back, hitting her hard in the chest. She sat up abruptly.

"We uh... we should get going. We have a long way to walk."

"Right..." Booth mumbled as he closed his eyes.

Why on Earth had he just done this? It was obvious that she wasn't going to be ready for this sort of contact. It was Temperance. But how could something that had felt so right be so wrong?

Great! Now she's got me thinking in cliches. Just great!

He sat up as well. They'd need to change. Both their outfits were soaked and he didn't know if he'd be able to walk back to the car with wet clothing.

"We'll need to change." he said.

"Huh?"

Temperance had been lost in her thoughts.

"I said that we'll need to change. We can't possibly walk back with wet clothes."

"Why not? They'll dry."

Her voice was cold and Booth knew that she had shut herself up. He sighed once again. Would she ever open up for good?

Booth got up and walked to his bag. One glance through it and he realized that Temperance had been right. Their clothes would be dry before they reached the car. They could change at the picnic site or at the restaurant. It wouldn't matter.

He threw on his dry T-shirt before turning to his partner.

"Are you ready to go then?"

Temperance nodded and followed Booth to the small cliff.

"How are we supposed to climb back up?"

"By climbing back up, Bones."

"Was that you being funny?"

Booth sighed again but this time in frustration.

"We had a lot of fun, Bones, this afternoon. You have to admit it. We were doing great. Why do you always have to ruin everything? I'm sorry about the hair tucking thing. I shouldn't have done that, I get it. There's no need for you to get mad at me."

Temperance looked down. He didn't understand anything. How was she supposed to explain to him that she had actually liked it and that had been the reason why she had to shut herself up? Would he understand if she told him that she needed to do this to feel in control of herself and her life? If she did tell him so, he would immediately think that he had power over her and that was something she didn't want. She simply wanted to enjoy this day without thinking about what was to come or analyzing what was going on. Of course, that wasn't going to happen.

"There's a tough branch sticking out of the ground a few feet from here. We'll use this to climb up." Booth replied as he started walking.

Temperance followed.

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"Let's make this more fun."

"How?" Booth asked, wiping the water from his face.

"Let's race. The first one to the other side of the lake wins."

"Wins what?"

"Just wins, Booth. You don't always need to have a prize at the end of something."

"But it's so much more fun." Booth whined, jokingly.

"You're such a child." Temperance replied, rolling her eyes.

"I try to be."

"So are you up for it or not?"

Of course he had been up for it. He had beat her three times out of the four races but she had a feeling he had let her win the last one. Of course he would never admit it. She side-glanced at him. He was walking quickly like he was in a hurry to get somewhere.

"Hey!"

"What?" Booth asked, innocently.

"You cheated!"

"Bones, I am hurt. I would never cheat."

"You came up for air, I just saw you."

Booth chuckled. She had been right. He had cheated. He didn't think that she would come up when he did. Of course she had won the last race. He didn't mind. It had been his punishment for cheating.

"Why are you laughing?" Temperance asked.

"I was just thinking about when you caught me cheating."

"So you do admit that you were cheating!"

"Yeah yeah. I admit it. Now can we just drop this?"

"Sure. How far are we from the main path?"

Booth looked at his watch. They had already been walking for fifteen minutes.

"Not far. We should be back in the picnic area in about fifteen more minutes."

"Good because I'm starved."

Booth laughed.

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Booth collapsed on the picnic table. He was exhausted and really hungry. It hadn't taken him more than five minutes to get changed into something dry and he had decided to wait outside for Temperance to be done. She had been in the restroom for ten minutes and Booth wondered what was taking her so long. Then again, he shouldn't be surprised. His partner was after all a woman, always taking so much more time than necessary getting ready.

The place was almost deserted. A few families were gathering up their stuff and getting ready to head back home. Booth watched two children as they chased each other, laughing uncontrollably and shrieking in delight. His heart squeezed a bit at the thought of Parker. He hadn't seen his son in weeks and he was starting to miss him. He then thought of the woman in the restroom not far away. She didn't want to have any kids and Booth couldn't understand why. Having children was the best thing a person could do yet this woman denied herself of that joy. Maybe he would be able to change her mind about it. How many times had he thought about starting a family with her.

Whoa, relax you! This is your first date with her and you're already thinking about having kids with her. What is the matter with you?

He had been so lost in his thoughts that he barely heard Temperance when she spoke to him.

"Are you ready?"

Coming out of his daze, he turned to stare at her. She looked exactly like she had looked when he had gone to pick her up a few hours ago: breathtaking.

"Of course I'm ready." Booth replied as he stood up.

The couple started walking towards the parking lot.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going?" Temperance asked.

"Nope."

He turned to face her. She looked exasperated. Booth chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"You're so cute when you're angry." He said before kissing her sweetly on the cheek.


	5. Bones' PreDinner Thoughts

A/N: Booth and Temperance decided that they were not quite ready for dinner yet. Read about their thoughts instead. This is a new way of writing for me, let me know what you think.

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"I'm sorry." Booth immediately said, pulling his arm away from her waist. "I didn't mean to."

"It's okay, Booth." Temperance assured him.

"No, Bones. You made it perfectly clear that you weren't ready for this kind of contact yet. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have."

His sentence made me feel guilty. I know he is hurt and I know that it's because of me. I certainly didn't do it on purpose but how was I supposed to know that he was going to do that? Not that it hadn't felt nice. It did feel nice actually and that was the problem. It wasn't supposed to fee like that though I'm not sure exactly how it was supposed to feel. I do know that the tingly feeling that I got after wasn't supposed to happen. Unfortunately it has and it has left me confused.

He kept a distance between the both of us as we walked back to the parking lot. We made small talk the whole way and I regretted my reaction at the beach. If I hadn't jerked up like I had, I'm pretty sure Booth would have kept his arm around my waist and wouldn't have apologized for the quick kiss. I smile as I recall the touch of his soft lips on my cheek. I turn to look at him. He's looking at the road ahead of us.

I turn back and look outside. Trees are zooming past us and I get dizzy watching them. I drop my gaze to the pavement and I wonder where Booth is planning on taking me. I don't bother to ask him because he's only going to tell me that I'll just have to wait until we get there.

I have to admit to myself, I did have fun today and no amount of denying will ever change that. Booth and I do have fun when we're not arguing. And him admitting that I was worthy of a place so sacred to him that he didn't even brought his kid really touched me. I look at him once again. I wonder if he felt that way when he read the dedication from my last book. Probably not.

I had debated a lot before actually dedicating my book to him. At first, I had thought of David. He was the one who had helped me with my plot, giving me a few ideas here and there even though I didn't really use all of them, he had even convinced me to make my two main characters kiss after a near-death experience. Even though today I am glad I hadn't dedicated my book that my ex-boyfriend, I was still afraid of dedicating it to Booth. But I thought that, after all we had been through that year and after everything he had done for me, he at least deserved that.

Booth pulls out of the freeway and into the traffic of Washington. I watch in silence as he turns right instead of left at the avenue. I still have no clue where he's planning on bringing me.

I had trouble this morning thinking that I was actually going on a date with Booth and even now, I'm still wondering what made me say yes to him. Ever since David had broke up with me, Booth had been tailing behind me, asking me out for drinks or for a movie or for dinner. It was really starting to get annoying. Yet, I begin to wonder now if that was the real reason I said yes. I mean, was it possible that I felt flattered by Booth's attention?

I think it's time I admit it. If, two years ago, Booth would have asked me out, I would have said yes. Even though I hated his guts, parts of me were still very attracted to him and actually believed that the feeling might have been mutual. Of course, Angela's thoughts on the question only made matters worse, especially after I found out Booth had a girlfriend. I actually thought my world was going to crumble down when I saw that blond lawyer walking in the living room. After that episode, I swore to myself that Booth wouldn't hurt me anymore. Not like he did it on purpose to hurt me in the first place but it was easier to blame him for leading me on than to blame myself for being so naive.

I kept my feelings for Booth hidden underneath years of shielding and I even led myself to believe that I didn't have feelings for him anymore. Lately, though, these old feelings are resurfacing and they scare me.

We drive a bit more and Booth pulls into a parking lot. I look up at the sign and read the name of the restaurant. I've never heard of it before but judging by the exterior, it seems nice. More than nice, actually.

He turns to me.

"I called and made reservations this morning. The host told me that there weren't any tables left but I pulled some strings and they added an extra table just for us."

I stare at him in disbelief. Why did he do that? We could have just gone to another restaurant instead.

I'm touched by how much work he put in this date. First the picnic at the park, then the secluded beach and now this. The guilt comes back from the way I acted this afternoon. He had planned all of this just for me and here I was ruining the day for him. I'm really touched but I don't know how to show him. I'm really not good with dealing with feelings.

He parks the SUV not far from the entrance and immediately gets out. I quickly follow him out. He's walking really fast, like he's in a hurry to get somewhere. I jog to catch up with him. As we walk side-by-side, I take a deep breath before slowly sliding my hand in his. My hand seems to have a shooting effect on him because he immediately slows down. I look up at him and smile. I know that I don't have to say anything. My move said more than any words would ever say.

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Next chapter: Booth's thoughts.


	6. Booth's PreDinner Thoughts

A/N: You read Bones' thoughts on the question, now read Booth's. And I have to say, Booth's thoughts are so much easier to write than Bones'.

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"I'm sorry." Booth immediately said, pulling his arm away from her waist. "I didn't mean to."

"It's okay, Booth." Temperance assured him.

"No, Bones. You made it perfectly clear that you weren't ready for this kind of contact yet. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have."

Really, I shouldn't have even though putting my arm around her waist was something I had done before. It was a more 'normal' contact for us than tucking her hair behind her ear. I shouldn't have apologized but I did. I guess that changing the setting had changed the meaning of my move. Normally, the move would have been just a friendly gesture but today, since we're on a date, everything I do or say has a new meaning... to her at least. What she could have perceived as a friendly gesture at work doesn't fit on a real live date.

I'm normally like this on dates with women I'm really interested in. Today, I should go slower because it's Bones. She's my best friend but also my work partner and I know just how important our work relationship is for her. I know that agreeing to go on a date with me took a lot of courage on her part because it meant that our relationship would be changed for ever. I, myself, am worried that, when we go back to work on Monday, that everything is going to be different.

I kept a small distance between us as we walked back to the SUV. I wanted her to know that I was going to respect her rhythm and that I wasn't going to make another move until she was ready. I don't know if she understood that. I hardly doubt it. Bones is very literal, therefore you need to be very direct with her. She doesn't read body language very well even though she has gotten better over the months we have worked together.

I smile as I recall the first time I met her. Man I hated her. She was just so annoying, always trying to be right and dominate the conversation. It seemed like she always had to prove to everybody that she was smart when there was no proving to be done. She's the smartest person I've ever known and probably that I'll ever know.

As much as I hated her, I still found her attractive. I used my charm on her like I would have used on any other woman but Temperance wasn't any other woman. She's different and I quickly realized that my charm wasn't going to work on her. I didn't know her well enough back then to change my tactic so I just gave up. Instead, I focused my attention on another lovely lady who went by the name of Tessa, on whom my charm at least worked. But I soon realized that Tessa wasn't Bones.

My relationship with Tess didn't last very long bunt, unlike popular belief, she didn't break up with me because of Bones. She didn't accuse me of having feelings for my favorite doctor, she simply said she wasn't ready for a real relationship. She told me we could keep dating casually or see each other as friends but I said no. What was the point? I wasn't going to waste my time on someone who didn't want to be with me. I haven't seen or talked to her since our breakup.

I'm not sure exactly when my feelings for Bones came back since I walked in the Jeffersonian one morning, saw her and butterflies immediately appeared. It had been progressed so slowly that I didn't even notice that I liked her until that very morning. Looking back today, I'm pretty they all came back the day Ortez had put a hit out on her. I remember being really scared for her life and thinking the worst. I also remember thinking selfishly what I would do without her. But that hadn't been about me, it had been about her, about her life. I forced myself to remember that as I waited for Ortez in the alley but I have to admit, while I was threatening that scumbag, it was about the both of us and not just her.

Just like I said, my feelings for her slowly came back. The more time we spent together, the more I craved to be with her and talk to her. I didn't ask for much: only a smile or a few words. Her relationship with David was like a blow in the face for me, especially since I thought we had made progress. But the fact that she dedicated her book to me and not to him gave me hope that, maybe, what she felt towards me (if she felt something) was stronger than what she felt for that sleazeball. I admit it, it was stupid of me to think that way but then again, I am dating her today, ain't I?

I pull out of the freeway and, at the lights, I turn left. I can sense that she is confused and that she doesn't know where we're going. It's a good thing because I don't want her to know. I want her to be surprised. I know she'll love the place where we're going. My parents had their anniversary there last year and it was just great! It helps that my dad knows the owner because I was able to book us a table where there shouldn't have been one for us. I went through a lot of trouble for dinner, more than for lunch, and I hope that she'll like it.

The restaurant isn't too far from the freeway but an accident on the boulevard prevent us from getting there quickly. When I turn into the parking lot, I see her, from the corner of my eye, looking up at the sign.

I turn to her and say:

"I called and made reservations this morning. The host told me that there weren't any tables left but I pulled some strings and they added an extra table just for us."

I'm not sure what possessed me to say this but I did. Maybe it was because I wanted her to think well of me, maybe I just wanted to impress her. Nevertheless, she seems surprised and I feel gratified by that. I know she thinks that we could have just gone to another restaurant and, on any other day, I would have agreed with her. Not today. Today, I want to show her how much she means to me and show her that I will go through great lengths for her. I'm sure that's something that her ex-boyfriends never did for her. I want her to feel special. Today, she has my entire attention even though I know I might not have all of hers.

I pull the SUV into an empty parking space and turn off the ignition. Nervousness settles back into the pit of my stomach and I pray silently that everything goes well during dinner. I don't know if I'll be able to fight the urge to make another move on her. I want to but I know that maybe she's not ready for it. Just before I get out of the car, I make up my mind: no more moves until she tells me she's okay with it.

I get out of the car and I hear her do the same behind me. I start walking surprisingly fast. I try to slow down but I feel like I have no more control on my legs. I hear her behind me. She's jogging to catch up to me. Once she's reached and walking beside me, I hear her take a deep breath but I still don't look at her. If I look at her, I know that I won't be able to keep my hands off her (in a non-sexual way, I mean).

I feel something soft sliding in my hand and I soon realize that it's hers. She feels so warm and my nervousness just melts away. I relax immediately at her touch and my feet slow down. I look down at her. She turns to me and smiles. I can hardly smile back. Her hand feels so petite in mine as our fingers link together. Her move acknowledges so many things and, up to this day, I can admit that I have never truly understood the saying Action speaks louder than words.

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Okay they told me that they've had enough and that they would like to go eat now. Who am I to deny that to them?


	7. Green Gates

A/N: It's dinner time and both Booth and Tempe are starving!

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Booth understood what the owner had meant the second they walked in the restaurant. Saying that the place was crowded would have been an understatement. The place was jam packed and Booth began to wonder if this had been such a good idea. He turned to Temperance who, looking at the crowd, had an unreadable expression plastered on her face.

"What's the matter?" Booth asked, knowing partially what was wrong.

"There's a lot of people." His partner replied, turning to look at him, anxiety in her eyes.

He knew she was a bit uncomfortable and she seemed to be clutching at his hand like a lifeline. He hadn't known her to be so anxious in public. He gave it a small squeeze.

"There's no need to be nervous, Bones. There's nobody here we know."

She looked at him for reassurance. She wasn't ready to take that step yet. If there was something she hated the most in the world, it was to be proven wrong. This would eventually happen when Angela, and the rest of the squints, would find out about the two of them. She could already hear Angela squeal and say:

"I told you he liked you!"

She wasn't quite ready to admit that she had been wrong. She had just barely begun to admit to herself the fact that she liked him as more than just a friend. This was as far as it was going to go today.

She had been able to reply to Booth when a host walked up to them.

"Hi! Welcome to Green Gates. Do you have a reservation?" The young man asked them.

He couldn't have been older than twenty, Booth thought.

"Yes, we do. It'll be under the name Seeley Booth."

The young man looked at his registry.

"Oh yes, Mr. Booth. You called this morning."

"Yes I did."

The man nodded.

"The owner has added an extra table just for you and your girlfriend. Please, follow me."

Booth fought the urge to respond that Temperance wasn't his girlfriend but decided to drop it when he didn't hear a complaint noise from his partner. He guessed that either she hadn't heard and that there was no need to rectify the information or she simply hadn't minded. He hoped for the second option.

They followed their host as he climbed a flight of stairs, their hands still linked together. Booth had a vague idea of where the owner might have placed this extra table but he said nothing.

His suspicions checked out right when the host led them out on the terrace at the back of the building. Three other couples were already enjoying their meals and Booth noticed that a table had been set up in the left corner of the balcony. Pulling a chair, he waited for Temperance to sit down before doing the same across the table.

"A waitress should be with you in a few minutes." The host said before handing them their menus.

Booth thanked the young man as he grabbed them. Handing one to Temperance, he immediately opened his. He hadn't realized how hungry he had been. He scanned the menu only once, settling for the Seafood Lasagna just like he had done at his parents' anniversary. He waited patiently as his partner went over the menu.

"I don't know what to order." She said, looking up briefly at him.

"Take the seafood lasagna like me. It's really good."

Temperance shook her head in disgust.

"No thanks. I'm not crazy about shrimps."

Booth looked shocked. She was the only woman he knew who didn't like shrimps.

"Really?" he asked, surprised.

"Really."

"What else are you not crazy about?"

A smile tugged at her lips.

"I'm not crazy about people who stare at me while I'm trying to decide what to order."

"Sorry Bones." Booth replied, sarcastically, before flashing her the brightest smile he could manage.

Temperance felt her stomach do a back-flip. She hated what he did to her.

Booth turned to look at the view they got from the balcony. He could see downtown Washington from where he was sitting and he noticed that clouds were coming their way. He silently hoped that they were full of water and only waiting to be above their heads to start pouring out on them.

He didn't know how long he had been staring into the abyss when he felt his partner kick him strongly underneath the table. He turned around, ready to tell her to grow up when he noticed the waitress standing beside him, holding the menus and looking at him impatiently. Booth mentally congratulated her professionalism.

"Oh... sorry." He said, trying his best to sound sorry. "I'll take the seafood lasagna."

The young waitress rolled her eyes.

"With salad or potatoes?" she asked, on a tone that told him she shouldn't even have been asking him this question.

Booth took a deep breath.

"Can you bring it with both?" He asked, not feeling like debating over whether salad or potatoes would be better.

"Of course."

He watched as the girl jotted down the order and left. Booth turned to Temperance and smiled at her.

"How long had she been there for?"

Temperance giggled.

"About two minutes. I told her that you tend to get spacey where you're hungry."

"Gee thanks". Booth replied, sarcastically. "Anyway, she just cut her tip in half."

Temperance laughed softly.

"What were you even thinking about?"

Booth felt his face grow warm at the question. He didn't really feel like admitting that he had gone from thinking about the beautiful scenery to another woman, who was equally beautiful and sitting in front of him. He didn't feel like telling her that his thoughts had gone from a scenery to something that they would definitely not be doing that night but could be doing in a near future. Instead, he simply shrugged and took a sip from his water.

"So... how was your week?"

Temperance seemed startled by his question. Was he really asking her about her week?

"I was with you all week. How can you not know how it went?"

Booth tried his best not to roll his eyes. This woman could be so clueless at times.

"I wasn't with you all week, every day, twenty-four/seven."

Temperance nodded. He had a point. She examined his face closely as she told him everything she had done that week. She watched as his expression never switched from interested to boredom and she began to feel nervous at the amount of attention he was paying to her. Never in her life had someone spent so much attention on her and none of the previous men she had dated listened as intently as Booth did. She was beginning to wonder if he hadn't drift into space when he stopped to question something he hadn't quite understood.

Oh my, he's really listening to me. She thought as she clarified what she had been saying.

She didn't realise how much she had been talking but she was surprised when the waitress placed her plate in front of her. She looked at Booth who eyed his lasagna with appetite.

"You hungry?" she asked him, teasingly.

Booth looked up at her and grinned.

"Starving."

Temperance nodded and dropped her gaze to her own plate. The salmon fillet looked delicious but she wasn't sure about the slices of lemon it was resting on. Rice and a bit of salad completed the dish, along with a bit of parsley. She grabbed her fork and her knife and began cutting up her fish.

They were silent for a while as they satisfied their appetite but after five minutes of silence, Booth spoke again.

"That's quite a sunburn you have there, Bones."

Temperance followed his eyes down to her chest. She was in fact pretty red.

"I look like a lobster." She said, blushing slightly.

"Well that's great because we're eating seafood."

Temperance cocked her head.

"Salmon isn't seafood."

"I know. But it lives in water."

"But it's not seafood."

Booth sighed.

"Just drop it, Bones."

They ate silently in awkwardness and Temperance immediately felt guilty. Why did she always have to ruin what could have been sweet moments between her and Booth? She had to learn to relax and not take everything so literally.

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The rest of the meal turned out great and no major incidents occurred. Instead, just like the afternoon had gone, dinner had been filled with laughter and memories recollection. People turned to look at them but the two friends were oblivious to all the stares. They were in their own little world and nothing could disturb them.

The owner, who come to the balcony to check on his special guests, had instead stopped at the door and watched the couple from a distance. He had known Seeley since he had been a little boy. His father and him had been really close back then, the two of them having worked in the army for a while, and he had seen little Seeley grow up to be a man. He had meant some of his dates on special occasions, including his parents' last anniversary, but none of the other women compared to the one who sat across from the man he'd come to call his nephew. He could see immediately that this one was going to stick. She made him happy like he had never seen Seeley happy. He smiled one more time before going back downstairs. He'd come back when dessert, if they chose to take some, would arrive. He'd even bring it to them personally.

Temperance settled her fork beside her empty plate and Booth immediately grabbed his opportunity and reached over the table, laying his hand on top of hers. He felt her stiffen under him but she soon relaxed. Booth smiled.

"Got anymore room?" he asked her, rubbing his thumb over her soft hand.

Temperance could hardly nod. The contact of his skin made her brain shut down. She was positive she looked like an idiot as she started into his deep brown eyes. Her stomach made another back-flip.

"Why?" she replied, her voice stuck in her throat.

"I thought we could order some dessert and then coffee."

Temperance agreed and Booth used his free hand to wave the waitress down. The young girl arrived at their side, her smile having returned from watching the couple from afar.

"Yes, Sir?" she asked.

Booth turned to his partner.

"What do you want for dessert? They have killer cheesecake here."

"I'm not fond of cheesecake." She replied.

"Are you just doing this for fun or are you serious again?" Booth asked, not sure if she was really being serious this time.

"I'm serious. I don't like cheesecake."

"Well I'll take some." Booth told the waitress.

The girl wrote it down.

"And you?"

"I'll just have a cup of coffee."

The girl nodded before walking back inside the restaurant. Booth looked at his watch. It was almost seven. He knew that after this, he would have to bring her home. He had nothing else planned for them and she was probably tired. Her sunburns had gotten redder and he was pretty sure that she would want to take care of them. He could feel his own damage on the back of his shoulders. It burned like crazy.

They talked more about what was to come at work when something caught his attention at the door. Coming his way was his dad's best friend, holding what seemed to be like two plates. Their young waitress followed him, holding two cups of coffee.

He smiled as the man approached their table.

"Seeley!" The man said, cheerfully.

Temperance turned to the sound of the voice to see a man in his late fifties coming their way. She guessed that it must have been the owner, the one Booth's father knew and, by the looks of it, that Booth had already knew.

"Hey! Uncle Larry!"

Larry picked up his pace and finally reached their table. He set the plates down on the table as Booth got up. The two men hug.

"Seeley, long time no see. How have you been?" Larry asked after pulling away.

"I've been great! How about you?"

"Oh, never been better."

Then, turning to Temperance, he said:

"You have to introduce me to your new girlfriend."

Larry flashed the woman a smile before turning to Booth.

"Temperance, this is Larry, a friend's of my dad. Larry, this is Temperance Brennan. She's a forensic anthropologist, probably the best in the country, and she's my partner."

Larry extended his hand and Temperance shyly grabbed it.

"I'm very glad to meet you, Temperance. I know you didn't order any dessert but I took the liberty of bringing you our best plain cake. It's just white cake, with vanilla frosting and coconuts on top."

"Thank you." Temperance replied.

Booth sat back down and immediately grabbed his fork. He had been waiting for this cheesecake ever since they had arrived.

"It was nice to see you again, Seeley. You two should stop by for dinner some time."

Booth nodded vaguely.

"We'll think about it."

"I'll leave you two alone."

On that, Larry turned around and walked away, leaving a very shocked Temperance behind him.

"We'll think about it, Booth?"

Planting his fork in his cake, Booth grinned.

"It's a figure of speech, Bones. Just a figure of speech."

Temperance nodded, unsure. Picking up her own fork, she began eating slowly her piece of cake. She wasn't really hungry anymore and they could leave this place and go someplace more quiet.

"God, Temperance, you have no clue what you're missing on." Booth said, taking a second bit of his cake.

Temperance watched him, a look of disgust and amusement in her face.

"My god Booth, get a room."

Booth chuckled lightly before swallowing his mouthful.

"Come on, you gotta try some."

Temperance shook her head.

"Booth, I already told you I didn't like cheesecake."

"This one's different. Here..."

Shifting his chair closer to hers, he slid his plate along the table. Sitting side-by-side, Temperance could now feel the heat emanating from his body. She watched as he picked a piece of cake with his fork and brought it to her mouth.

"Come on, Bones. Open wide."

"Booth..." She warned, even though she knew it was useless.

"Just try it, Temperance. You'll never know what you're missing out on."

Temperance sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine."

"Thank you."

Opening her mouth, she watched as the fork disappeared into it and she closed her lips shut around the fork. Booth pulled it out seconds later.

"So?" He asked, looking expectantly at her.

She chewed on the cake, deciding whether to lie or not. Booth had been right, as usual. This cake was amazing. She finally swallowed.

"And?"

She nodded in response.

"You were right. It's really good."

Booth looked at her, a smug look on his face.

"I was right." He announced proudly.

Temperance hit him playfully on the arm.

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Dinner was paid for and the couple left the restaurant. Neither of them felt like calling it a night but neither of them said anything. Sitting down on the curb, they watched the cars on the boulevard speed by them. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Booth pulled her to him. She went in willingly, resting her head on his shoulder. He rested his own on hers.

"Want to catch a movie?" he asked her.

"Sure. I don't really feel like going home anyway."

She felt at peace in his arms, something she hadn't felt in the longest time. She just couldn't bring herself to go home, alone, just yet. She would never tell him directly.

"Good. Me neither." Booth replied, strengthening his hold around her.

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Coming next: a movie!


	8. Death du Jour

A/N: No, you're not hallucinating! "The Date" has finally been updated! I just got through one bad writer's block and I'm proud to be posting this chapter today. I hope you enjoy it and please don't forget to review on your way out! Thanks!

Disclaimer: They still don't belong to me, but Alexis, James and Hannah sure do:-) Read further to know what I'm talking about.

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There was a nice contrast between the cool air of the movie theatre and the stuffy one from outside which made Temperance shiver the second she stepped through the doors of the building. Booth followed closely behind her. She let him step in front since he seemed to know the place better than her. He led her to the main counter and looked up at a screen hanging over it.

"Which movie would you like to see?" he asked her.

His eyes immediately fell on Death du Jour but he remained quiet. He knew that his partner would love this movie but he was willing to let her choose the movie, just like he had with the restaurant. Again, she gave him the choice of the movie.

"I don't recognise any other these names, Booth. You know them better than me. You choose."

Booth sighed. Temperance desperately needed to get out of the lab more often. Of course he had known that before but the fact that he knew all of these titles and had seen most of their previews on television made him feel awkward for her. She was missing so much on life, he thought.

"Death du Jour looks really good! I saw the previews for it last week and I'm pretty sure you'll like it. We can go see that one."

Temperance nodded and Booth immediately stepped up to the counter. There was nobody else in line which surprised him. Temperance stepped up beside him.

He insisted on paying and, this time, Temperance didn't fight it. She accepted immediately. She wasn't sure whether it was the sun or the fact that she had never done so much stuff in the same day but she felt to tired to argue. She just wanted one thing: to be sitting down in a comfy chair and watch a movie in the comfort of the dark. She was tired of the sun. She hadn't seen herself yet but she could definitely feel the burns on her back, her chest and her face. She must have been looking like a lobster.

The movie was scheduled to start at 8:30 and when Temperance looked down at Booth's watch, she saw that it was only 8:00. They still had thirty minutes of spare time before the movie would start. She immediately proposed to her partner that they could sit immediately in the room but Booth refused. He didn't feel like staring at a screen displaying "games" to pass the time. A couple more minutes in the lobby wouldn't hurt.

Temperance followed him like a puppy once again. They hadn't made more than ten steps when a voice behind them shouted something. Temperance was the first to turn around and to see a woman with long blond hair walking in their direction. Temperance had a bad feeling about this woman. It had to be because of the blond hair.

"Seeley!" The woman cried once again.

Booth turned around at the sound of the oh-so familiar voice. Hannah's voice.

"Hannah! Hi!" Booth replied, walking closer to the woman, a fake smile plastered on his face.

"Oh my God Seeley, it's been so long! How are you?"

Booth thought she was being a little over dramatic.

"I'm okay."

He left it at that.

The faint sound of coughing made Booth turn to his partner. Temperance was looking at him, expectantly.

"Hannah, this is Temperance Brennan, my colleague. Temperance, this is Hannah, an acquaintance of mine."

Hannah raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

An acquaintance? She thought.

"Hi." Temperance replied, obviously uncomfortable.

Her only wish was for this woman to leave them alone. But deep down, she knew that Hannah wasn't planning on leaving them alone.

"What's new with you, Babe? I haven't seen you in years."

Babe? Temperance thought. Seriously, these two were more than just acquaintances.

"Do you still work for the FBI?"

"Yeah." Booth replied."I'm now the liaison between the Bureau and the Jeffersonian Institute."

Hannah nodded and it was obvious she had no idea what Booth was talking about. Temperance forced herself not to laugh at the woman's ignorance.

"Which movie are you going to see?" Hannah asked, changing the subject.

Temperance prayed for Booth keeping the name of the movie secret but of course, the man didn't keep his mouth shut. He immediately replied to Hannah's question, the woman then shrieking in delight.

"I'm going to see the same one! I saw the previews for it two nights ago and I've been wanting to see that movie ever since. Maybe we could sit together."

Booth shook his head.

"Actually, Tempe and I would like to be alone."

Tempe? Temperance thought. He never called her that. Coming from him, her own name sounded like music to her ears.

"You two are together?"

Another jacking of eyebrows, this time, in surprise.

"No. I mean, yes, we are." Booth stuttered, not quite sure what to answer.

Hannah's question had two meanings and Booth wasn't sure which one to answer truthfully.

"We're on a date." Temperance blurted out.

Booth turned quickly to his partner and Temperance felt herself blush. Hannah simply shrugged.

"Well, I guess I'll see you after the movie."

On that, she moved on her tip-toe and quickly kissed Booth on the cheek. The kiss had barely lasted more than two seconds but to Booth, Hannah's lips had lingered a little too long on him. Temperance had looked away, disgusted.

When Hannah was out of sight, Booth turned back once again to Temperance who was still trying her best to look away from him.

"You can stop staring at the entrance, Bones. She's gone."

Temperance turned her gaze to her partner, obviously hurt by what she had just witnessed.

"Who was she?" she asked, trying to remain cool.

This time, it was Booth's turn to look away, embarrassed. He didn't want to tell her. Anyway it didn't matter whether she knew who Hannah was or not since he hadn't been with her in years and his feelings or whatever it had been he had felt for the blond had disappeared long ago.

He looked down at his hands and his fingernails suddenly became very fascinating.

"She's an old friend." He replied, still examining the tip of his fingers.

"Just an old friend? I don't recall ever calling you babe and you're my friend."

Her tone made it perfectly obvious that she wasn't buying his explanation and Booth couldn't blame her. Never would he be able to lie to her, she's see right through him.

"She's my ex-girlfriend."

Temperance nodded. She had known it from the start. Then again, it had been fairly obvious.

"How long ago did you two broke up?"

"What does it matter?"

"She seemed pretty hooked up on you."

Booth sighed.

"I met Hannah while I was still with Rebecca. We became friends instantly and when Rebecca left me, Hannah was there for me. We were lovers only for like a year before we officially got together. We didn't last long. After two years, she decided that she had had enough of me and she left me for another man. I met Tessa not long after that."

Temperance felt the nauseous feeling she felt whenever Booth talked about his previous relationships creeping up her throat once again and she immediately regretted being nosey. Booth must have sensed it for he immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She surprisingly let him.

"But all of that doesn't matter since I've met you."

He sweetly kissed her on the forehead, making Temperance shiver slightly. He smiled down at her.

"Come on." He said softly. "The movie is about to start."

Hand-in-hand, Booth led her to room number 8. Not far away, on the second floor of the movie theatre, Hannah jealously watched them walk away.

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Booth watched Temperance's expression when she learned that Alexis Lively, the movie's main character, was a forensic anthropologist, just like her. He watched as Temperance sat at the edge of her seat practically the entire movie, trying to figure out before Alexis what was going on. He saw her blush when Alexis and her "partner", James, made out Alexis' couch. He chuckled quietly as the red turned a deeper shade when James ran his hand under Alexis' shirt. If she only knew that Booth had wanted to do the same thing to her, he was sure she would have blushed even deeper.

When the movie finally ended, almost two hours later, Temperance turned to her partner, her cheeks rosy from the sun and the excitement caused by the movie.

"Booth, that was the best movie ever!"

"It was actually a novel." Booth replied, matter-of-factly, delighted that he was teaching her something. "Death du Jour, by Kathy Reichs. One of her best novels."

"You read her novels?"

It was Booth's turn to blush.

"Yeah." He replied, looking away.

Temperance smiled as she watched Booth being embarrassed for the second time that day. She found it too cute.

"Did you figure out the ending before her?" Booth asked, as they walked out of the room, hand-in-hand.

"No but I could have if Hannah hadn't kept disturbing me."

"So you saw her?"

"It was hard not to. She kept staring. It was annoying."

Booth nodded, knowingly. He had been annoyed to.

At the restroom, Booth stopped in his tracks and told Temperance to wait up for him. She said that she'd wait in the car. Booth nodded.

He was washing his hands when he heard someone enter the room. He looked up in the mirror to see Hannah standing behind him. He turned quickly around.

"Hannah? What are you doing here? This is the men's restroom."

"Yeah so? It never stopped us before."

Booth blushed at her reference. He still couldn't believe they had had sex in a public bathroom. It had seemed like a good idea back then but today, Booth couldn't help but think about the unsanitary conditions of the place. He shivered, disgusted.

"How did you like the movie?" she asked, taking a step towards him.

Booth backed against the sink.

"I thought it was okay. I personally preferred the book but I think Temperance loved the movie."

"I didn't ask about her, I asked about you."

Booth sighed.

"You dumped me." He blurted out.

She looked at him in surprise.

"So? I found someone better at the time."

The words stung but he pushed the feeling away. He had Temperance now. She was so much better than any other women he had dated. He couldn't let himself get hurt by Hannah. She wasn't worth it.

"So what now that you're alone, you go back to your ex's?"

Hannah shook her head.

"Not really. I didn't plan to run into to you today."

She took a few more steps towards him and was soon at his height. Climbing once again on the tip of her toes, she stopped mere inches from his lips.

"You're still as hot as when we were going out."

She quickly pressed her lips on his and continued kissing him even though she felt no action on his part.

Booth remained motionless for a few seconds before gathering enough force to push his ex-girlfriend away.

"You have got to stop doing that! You dumped me, remember? And I moved on. I met other women, I dated some of them and now I actually think that I found one that I really like and can really see myself with."

"Temperance?"

She spoke her name like it was a disease.

"Yes. Temperance. I like her now. Not you, not anybody else. Only her."

Hannah nodded.

"Well suit yourself! But let me tell you this. You can do so much better than her. She's not even pretty."

She watched Booth's face twist in anger. Satisfied, she walked out of the bathroom before he threw himself at her. She didn't to fight with him. She just wanted trouble for the fun of it.

Something caught her attention as she walked out of the restroom.

"He's all yours." She told a stunned Temperance, who had heard everything.

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Hope you enjoyed this! See you in the next chapter! The date is coming to an end...


	9. The End?

A/N: Just thought Hannah would bring a little action into the story and I was really happy that everyone reacted to her! Hope you like this chapter too.

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Booth swore his heart stopped beating for a full second after his eyes fell on Temperance, standing barely two feet away from the door. He tore his eyes from her and turned to see Hannah walking quickly towards the door. He still couldn't believe what had happened in the bathroom and it suddenly dawned on him, as he watched Hannah open the door violently, that if his partner was standing two feet away from him, it probably meant that she had heard everything. He turned to face her. She looked stunned and he immediately hoped that it was good stunned. Their date had gone really well before Hannah had arrived and he hoped that his ex-girlfriend hadn't ruined his chance with Temperance. He gulped.

"I'm sorry." He said, thinking it was the only thing to say.

Temperance simply blinked at him. He wished at that particular moment that he had the ability to read her mind. He needed to know if the things going through it were good or bad. He needed to know what exactly she had heard and how she felt about them. He hoped she hadn't witnessed the kiss.

Relax, Booth. His mind told him. Last time you checked, she couldn't see through walls.

Booth sighed in relief when he saw her open her mouth to talk. Unfortunately for him, no sound came out and she closed it. He sighed again.

"Come on. I'll drive you home." He said, reaching out to take her hand in his.

They silently walked back to the car, both lost in their thoughts.

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The drive back was equally silent. Temperance stared out the window, looking at the lights and buildings as they passed by them. Her heart hurt and she wasn't quite sure why.

She had seen Hannah sneaking in the men's room which was why she had turned around and walked back to the restroom. She had stood outside of it, the absence of a door making it so much easier for her to hear everything going on inside.

She heard him ask her what she was doing there since it was a men's restroom. She heard Hannah reply that it had never stopped them before. She had immediately felt jealous as she understood the meaning under the woman's statement. She had also felt a twinge of disgust at the thought of sex in a public bathroom. It was so unsanitary.

Booth had blurted out that Hannah had dumped him and that had caught her attention. Stepping closer to the entrance, she had listened carefully to see what her reply was going to be. She nearly barged in the room when she heard Hannah say that she had found someone better. How could that woman be so careless?

She couldn't see through walls but she had known the second Hannah had pressed her lips against Booth. She wasn't quite sure how she had known but she had. Maybe it had because of the muffled sound Booth had made or because he had almost yelled "You have got to stop doing that!" or maybe a little bit of both. Whatever the reason had been, she had felt her heart squeeze and she had shuddered at the thought of Booth kissing another woman. Was that what jealousy felt like?

She had listened as Booth told Hannah that he had moved on and she had felt a small wave of happiness sweep through her but the wave crashed the second she had heard:

"Now I actually think that I found one that I really like and can really see myself with."

Her heart had raced faster and she had been pretty sure that her legs were going to give out under her. Booth had found someone? How come he had not told her? The thought never occurred to her that Booth might have been talking about her. She had been about to leave when Hannah had spoke her name.

"Yes, Temperance. I like her now. Not you, not anybody else. Only her."

Booth liked her? How was that possible and most important, when had that happened? Images of previous events that day flashed in front of her eyes: the hand holding, the hair tucking, the picnic, the swim in the lake, the laughter, the look in his eyes, the cake-feeding at the restaurant, the cuddling after dinner. Everything started to make sense. Booth liked her. It was at that particular moment that she realized she might like him too.

Everything else had happened too quickly and before she had known it, Hannah had been dashing out of the men's room, had told her he was all hers and had left. Booth had come out of the bathroom, had looked surprisingly shocked and now, here they were, on their way to her apartment, her heart aching.

She turned to look at Booth who had his eyes fixed on the road ahead of them. She could see him clutching the steering wheel tightly and she wondered if he was mad about something. She placed her hand on his thigh and squeezed it lightly. Booth's head jerk her way.

"Bones... what the?" he said, breathing heavily.

She had startled him and she couldn't help but smile.

"A little tense, Booth?" she asked, teasingly.

His features loosened a little and he smiled.

"Sorry Bones. I was just thinking about Hannah."

"Oh." Temperance replied, pulling her hand off his thigh. "Oh."

Booth's smile faded.

"No Bones, it's not what you think. I was just thinking about what she said to me in the bathroom and it pissed me off. I'm sorry. I don't want you to think that I still love her because I don't. I stopped loving her a long time ago."

Temperance nodded.

"Why did you two broke up?"

"I told you already. She got sick of me."

"That's the only reason?"

Booth sighed and shook his head. The lines in front of him became blurry. Was he tearing up?

What the hell? He thought.

"She uh... she cheated on me. Twice. With one of my best friends. My brother Jared, he saw them together and he came to tell me. I confronted her about it. She didn't deny it and told me she was actually thinking of leaving me for him. The same night, she was packing her stuff and leaving my apartment. I never heard from her after that."

Temperance nodded, numbly. Hannah had cheated on Booth? How was that even possible? She knew that if she had been in her shoes, no other man would have been able to make her cheat on him.

"Can we please change the subject, Bones? I don't really like talking about it."

"Sure." She replied, looking away from him and out the window once again.

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Booth pulled the SUV in the parking lot of her apartment building and stopped behind her own car. The parking lot was nearly empty and Booth wondered where all of the tenants in her building had gone. Only three or four cars remained. Booth decided to park the SUV in one of the empty spots. Too bad for the owner of it. He didn't plan on staying a long time anyway.

Temperance followed him out of the vehicle and once again led the way to her apartment. She could hear Booth walking behind her, holding the bag he had insisted to carry. She wondered why he was bothering walking her to her door. It wasn't like she wasn't able to walk on her own. She had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that it was dark and he had afraid she'd get kidnapped or something. She shook her head slightly.

"Why are you shaking your head?" he asked from behind her.

"No reason." She replied as she took out her keys from her pocket and unlocked the door.

They stepped into the building's lobby and stopped into front of the elevator. Temperance pressed the button.

"Are you walking me to my door?"

Booth grinned.

"Of course I am. What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't?"

Temperance chuckled.

"You don't have to do all of this, Booth. I'm..."

"Capable of walking on your own, I know." He said, finishing her sentence for her. "Just let me do this, okay? Don't question it. I want to do this."

"Yes, Temperance. I like her now. Not you, not anybody else. Only her."

His voice echoed in her ears. She nodded.

The doors chimed open and the two friends stepped in the elevator. Pressing the button to her floor, she turned to Booth.

"You know we could have just taken the stairs. I live on the second floor."

"I know but it's so much quicker that way."

Temperance smiled.

The elevator ride lasted barely ten seconds and the partners stepped out of the shaft at the same time. They slowly back down the hallway, knowing fully well the second they would reach Temperance's door that it would be the end of their wonderful day together.

Unfortunately for them, the door came into sight and Temperance stopped in front of it. She unlocked her door and was about to step in the darkness of her apartment when she felt a hand grab her arm. She swung towards the belonger of the hand.

"What?" she asked, confused.

Booth dropped the bag beside her.

"You think you can just walk in your apartment and leave me standing outside?"

He smiled teasingly at her.

"Well do you want to come in? You know, for coffee or something?"

Booth shook his head.

"I'm sorry but I can't."

"Oh."

She sounded disappointed and Booth felt bad.

"I'm sorry. I have this really early meeting tomorrow morning that I can't miss."

"Okay. So, how does 'date' Booth end his dates?"

She watched as Booth stepped closer to her, invading her personal space in a good way. She fought the urge to snake her arms around his neck, especially when she felt a pair of hands on her hips.

"Depends." Booth replied.

"Depends on what?"

Her voice was low and shaky and Temperance cursed her weakness.

"Well, when I don't feel a particular connection with the girl, I do this..."

He leaned in closer to her and kissed her softly on the cheek. Temperance felt her face grow warm and her heart racing like mad in her chest. She held her breath as he pulled away, wondering what was going to happen next.

"And when the date went amazingly well, I do this..."

Her eyes fluttered close as Booth kissed her softly on the lips. Her hands cupped his elbows.

The kiss ended as quickly as it had started. Booth pulled away and looked at his partner. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered:

"See you tomorrow, Bones."

She opened her eyes to notice that he was gone. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, her feet nailed to the floor, feeling hazy from the kiss.

She heard the door to the apartment across from hers open but she barely paid any attention to it.

"Oh hey Temperance!" her neighbor said, cheerfully, as he locked the door to his apartment, oblivious to Temperance's expression.

His voice brought her back to reality and she shook her head. Noticing that she was still standing in front of her door, she pushed her bag inside with her foot and closed the door behind her.

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Hope you all enjoyed this story! I know I enjoyed writing:-) Please review!


	10. Lesson in Love

A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews, they really made my day! It was funny to see everybody begging for another chapter when that was exactly what I had planned for this story. ;-) Hope you like this chapter and thank you to everyone who read this story!

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"Then what happened?" Elizabeth asked excitedly, a grin on her face.

She had never heard the story of how her parents had met and being the romantic soul that she was, she was squealing with joy.

Pretty much like Angela had done. Temperance recalled.

Temperance grinned as well, remembering what her partner had done after he had left his apartment on that night so many years ago.

"He called me just before he went to bed. He said he just wanted to check up on me and wish me a good night. We ended talking on the phone for an hour before I ended it, telling him to go sleep."

Elizabeth sighed dreamily.

"That's so romantic."

"Your dad is a romantic man."

Elizabeth's smile faded and she turned to her mirror. Temperance grabbed a brush and gently ran it through her teen daughter's hair. Looking in the mirror at her baby girl, she realized that Elizabeth was all grown up. She definitely had her mother's eyes and face but her personality was all Booth. Everybody knew it.

"You see, Lizzie, if I hadn't gone on a date with your father, I would have missed out on so much. One thing your father taught me is to face my fears. I was scared to death about starting a relationship with him. Ask him, he'll tell you. The next morning, everything felt so awkward that I didn't talk to him at all. But with a little persistence, he got me to go out with him again and that was it."

"But Mom." Elizabeth whined. "Justin is just... so annoying. He bugs me all the time, he teases me and we're always arguing. He bugged me for like six months before I agreed, the other day, to go out with him."

"If you don't like him, why did you agree to go out with him?" Temperance asked.

"Why did you agree to go out with Dad?" Elizabeth replied.

Temperance chuckled. Her daughter had a point. Maybe there was a part of her mother in her personality after all.

"It won't be that bad, I promise. You two have been friends for a while now so deep down, he doesn't annoy you that much."

"You were friends with Dad for like two years and he bugged the hell out of you. And he still does now after like what? Twenty years?"

Twenty years. Temperance thought. Has it been that long?

She couldn't believe that they had been together for twenty years and that three wonderful children had come out of her marriage.

Temperance dropped the brush at their side and pulled her daughter to her. She knew how Lizzie was feeling. She was scared of ruining a pretty good friendship, just like she had done twenty years ago. But she had seen her daughter with her date before. They were exactly like her and Booth had been, except younger.

"If you don't go on that date, Sweetie, you'll never know what you'll be missing out on. Now I'm not saying that your date is going to extremely well. You never know, maybe you'll realize you like Justin only as a friend. But that's something you won't know unless you go out with him."

They heard the doorbell ring and Lizzie looked up at her mother. Temperance squeezed her reassuringly before getting up.

"Come on. You don't want to keep Justin waiting too long."

Temperance walked out of the room, closely followed by a rather nervous Elizabeth. She stopped at the top of the stairs and looked down. Justin stood in front of the door, clean-shaved, hair gelled and shaking slightly. She turned her gaze to her daughter who was now walking down the stairs. She watched as Justin looked up and saw her, and Temperance saw a look in his eyes that she had seen often in Booth's. She smiled tenderly. Her daughter would be just fine.

She walked down the stairs nonchalantly and passed her daughter in front of the door.

"Have fun Sweetie." Temperance said.

"Bye Mom!" Elizabeth replied before stepping outside, Justin walking a bit too quickly ahead of her.

Just like Booth had done. Temperance smiled.

She walked into the living room to see her husband standing at the window, arms crossed on his chest, staring out at the two teenagers getting into the car. Temperance slipped her arms around his waist, locking her fingers on his stomach and resting her chin on his shoulder.

"She's too young to go on a date." Booth said, not bothering to look at his wife.

"She's sixteen, Seeley. She's not a baby anymore."

Booth shrugged.

"Still too young for me."

Temperance chuckled.

"He's a good guy. I've seen them together. They're just like us. They'll be just fine."

Booth reluctantly turned his gaze from the window and looked at his wife. He knew she was right, he knew that Elizabeth wasn't a baby anymore and that she could pretty much defend herself on her own but he still felt overprotective of her. She was his first born daughter. He just couldn't help it.

"If you need someone to go all overprotective on," Temperance started, "we still have an eleven-year-old girl upstairs who might need some protection."

Booth smiled at his wife tenderly.

"Of course since she's so much like you."

Temperance gasped sarcastically.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

Booth leaned in and claimed her lips with his. They might have been together for twenty years but the passion was still there. The kiss intensified in passion but a small cough behind the couple interrupted them. Booth looked up over his wife's head to see their fourteen year-old son and their eleven-year-old daughter looking at them.

"What's up kids?" Booth asked, like they hadn't witnessed anything.

Temperance turned around.

"We're hungry." Kyle replied. "When are we eating?"

"In about thirty minutes." Temperance replied, letting go of her husband.

The two kids nodded and were about to leave when Booth called them back.

"Laura, what's that on your forehead?" Booth asked, approaching his daughter quickly.

He scanned the little bump on top of her right eye and the way the skin was a bit greenish. Booth noticed Temperance disappearing quickly into the kitchen and knew instantly that something was up.

"I picked up a fight with James from across the street. He called me Kyle an idiot and I stood up for him." Laura replied like it had been the most normal thing in the world to do.

Booth sighed and rolled his eyes. He'd never say it enough. Laura was just like her mother. And that was why he loved them both so much.

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I hope you all liked this last chapter! Thanks for reading! 'bows' (Just kidding)


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